Several conscientious households have given a miss to Plaster-of-Paris and switched to idols made of shadu clay and papier-mâché.

A Ganesha idol made of clay by Dattadri Kothur at Lower Parel on Thrusday.(Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

Preparations for Bappa’s arrival began much before the festival for devotees and idol-makers. After hours of brainstorming, everyone wants a masterpiece at their place. Some have added a social message to the theme, while others have opted for an environment-friendly Ganesha idol.

Several conscientious households have given a miss to Plaster-of-Paris and switched to idols made of shadu clay and papier-mâché.

“During immersions, we have noticed most of the households are getting eco-friendly. People are now aware that they shouldn’t harm the environment while they enjoy the celebrations,” said Bhagyashree Ukey, junior engineer, maintenance department, S-Ward of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

Apart from the eco-friendly idols, some of the households across the city have chosen to send out a message to devotees visiting their place. Themes include promotion of women’s cricket, education for underprivileged students, introducing younger generation to traditional toys, among others.

Several households in Mumbai switched to eco-friendly Ganeshs idols and social themes. Here are some of them:

Theme: Women’s cricket team

Where: Borivli

By: The Pradhans

Paying tribute to Indian women’s cricket team, Jayant Pradhan’s has made a model of Wankhede stadium in which Ganpati is seated. He spoke about different roles that women can play in cricket

Theme: Stationery offerings

Where: Tardeo

By: The Parekhs

Krutikk Parekh and his family intend to distribute 500 products to Vatsalya Foundation on the last day of the festival. They had thus requested their friends and relatives to offer stationery items to their Ganpati, instead of sweets. They have collected 150 products.

Theme: Back to basics

Where: Andheri

By: The Jains

The theme encouraged children to play in sand with earthen toys and idols made of clay products. “I put soil on the floor to teach my daughter that it’s okay to get dirty. I also made clay toys and a clay kitchen set to pique her interest. I wanted show her how people played naturally back in the day,” said Vivek Jain.

Theme: Rotating lotus

Where: Jogeshwari

By: The Adhias

The lotus Ganpati .
(Pramod Thakur/HT PHOTO)

To celebrate their new home, Rina Adhia made the decor of a rotating lotus, which took 15 days to design. The family received appreciation for having a pandal-style decoration at their home.

Green idols

Material: Clay

Where: Ville Parle

By: Pranali Sahasrabudhe

Pranali has been making clay idols with accessories at home for the past four years. Though she doesn’t have a formal training in clay modelling, she learnt it through YouTube videos.

Material used: Red Soil

Where: Lower Parel

By: Dattadri Kothur,

Having started with one idol, Dattadri Kothur now makes around 800 idols, which includes those for celebrities such as – Hrithik Roshan, Susmita Sen, Roop Kumar Rathore and Richa Chadda.

Material: Chocolate

Where: Santacruz

By: Rintu Rathod

Rintu Rathod, a baker by profession, made a Ganpati of chocolate weighing 35-kg chocolate. After the immersion, she gifted chocolate to underprivileged children. This year, she had made nine other idols and conducted 18 workshops training people to make chocolate Ganesha.